Grounded
by castor442
Summary: Stefan shook his head and took a wary step back. He didn't want to admit but this Damon scared the crap out of him. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the Damon he knew as a human and during the first few years of their vampire lives.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. They belong to L.J Smith and the CW**_

* * *

 _ **GROUNDED**_

Damon sipped from his glass as he waited for Stefan to come home. He glanced at the clock one more time. It was past midnight, and Stefan was still not home. He chuckled lightly to himself as he did a little math on how long it had been since that mattered, since he had actually bothered what time Stefan came home. Alaric's words replayed in his head.

" _You're late"_

" _I had to make sure Jeremy was in bed and Elena was safe before I left. And I had to drop Matt over at Tyler's. They need to work on some project together. This is Mystic Falls. Anything can happen. And I was not about to take any chances"_

" _This parenting thing suits you. You're such a worrywart"_

" _Caring about Elena and Jeremy and Matt does not make me a worrywart. It's my job. I'm their legal guardian. Something you should probably start learning"_

" _Me? Pfft. Stefan's a big boy. He can take care of himself"_

" _He's seventeen Damon. He needs rules and a firm hand'_

" _You know he's not really seventeen. And he's a vampire. He'll survive"_

" _Yeah? You going to tell me he's one sixty something and old enough to make his own choices? Damon, either you've been ignoring the fact that you need to take care of your little brother or you're very naïve. And I know you're not naïve. Caroline's a vampire too but Sheriff Forbes still makes rules and expects them to be followed. And Mason doesn't give Tyler so much leeway either. Even Elijah makes sure Kol and Rebekah follow rules, and they are older than Stefan in every way. Stefan is the only one in their little gang who doesn't have to answer to anybody. You know that they don't grow up or mature or anything. They are dead Damon. Almost every biological process in their bodies freezes. They are stuck as teenagers. Sullen teenagers with raging hormones and you think if you make excuses that Stefan's not really seventeen he'll suddenly grow up and become responsible? Do you even know where he is right now?" he paused to rummage through his bag and dropped a piece of paper in front of Damon. "That is Stefan's history paper. I was doing some grading while I waited for Elena and Jeremy to fall asleep. A B is not bad but for someone like Stefan who has practically lived through the history we do in class, it's a terrible grade. His facts were correct but the essay was written in a very haphazard and lazy manner and it is very similar to what Tyler Lockwood and Matt Donovan wrote - I intend to talk to Matt and Tyler about that. Now this assignment was supposed to be done over a period of three days, and looking at the seemingly rushed way it was written I'd say they waited until the very last minute to start writing. And that is not the behavior of a grown up mature person. It's time to view Stefan as he really is Damon; a teenager who desperately needs rules. You need to start being your brother's guardian Damon. You're all he's got" he ended, chugging down some whisky_

Damon had not had the stomach for any alcohol after that so they had cut it short and he had come home. He called Stefan seven times without an answer and now he was waiting for him on the couch, his history paper beside him. He read the paper a fourth time before he heard Stefan's Porsche; the new modern one he bought him a few weeks ago, not the vintage one he couldn't seem to part from though it was also red. He smiled fondly when he remembered Stefan's reaction when he received the car. He had hugged Damon. Damon remembered vividly because it was the first time in a long time Stefan had instigated a hug. And after a little dance around the house he jumped into the car and went for a joyride. Damon wondered how he had missed all this. Those were typical teenage boy reactions to a new car. He had treated Stefan as a responsible and mature adult for so long he completely overlooked the small signs that showed his little brother was as mature as the next teenager.

He wiped the smile off his face and adopted a stern look as Stefan opened the door. It wouldn't do for Stefan to see him smile as he tried to reprimand him.

"Where have you been?"

Stefan's head jerked up from where he had been texting on his phone to look at Damon. He cocked his head to the side quizzically.

"What?"

"I asked where you've been Stefan. It's almost three am and you are just coming in. And I'm glad to see your phone's okay. Wanna tell me why you've been ignoring my calls?"

Stefan was so shocked by the authoritative way Damon was behaving towards him he just gaped at his brother as his mind tried to come up with an answer to his questions.

"While you think of an answer, I want you to take a look at your history assignment and explain to me why it is so shoddily written when you practically lived through it" Damon continued, handing Stefan his history paper.

Stefan winced at the red B plastered on the page. History was his favorite subject. It was the one subject that was constant whenever he had to restart high school and he always made an A.

Damon stood up from the couch and held out his hands. "Give me your phone and your car keys"

Stefan looked at him incredulously. "Why? What is wrong with your phone and your car?"

"Nothing. Hand them over"

"I'm not giving you my phone or car keys for no reason. What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting strange. And since when did you care about my school work? Did you piss off another witch?"

"Stefan, I'm not going to ask again. Phone and car keys. Now" Damon asked calmly, hands still held out. "And watch your language. No swearing"

Stefan shook his head and took a wary step back. He didn't want to admit but this Damon scared the crap out of him. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the Damon he knew as a human and during the first few years of their vampire lives. And _**that**_ Damon was …

"W-what is going on Damon?"

"You're grounded" Damon answered simply. "Now give me your phone and car keys"

Stefan looked at him wide eyed. "Grounded? W-what? You can't ground me. I'm…"

"An adult? Right. That is why in your sane adult mind you decided to stay out into the early hours of morning when you have to go to school in just a few hours" Damon walked over to Stefan and took the phone out of his shocked hands. It was only when he put his hands into his pocket to dig out the keys to the Porsche that Stefan snapped out of it.

"Wait" he struggled. "Y-you can't. It's insane and... Why are you doing this? It never bothered you before. Ok, I get it. I won't stay out late anymore. But… Wait. Please. You can't take the car. How will I get to school?"

"I'll drive you. Or you get a lift from one of your friends" Damon said, succeeding in getting the keys. He turned to look at a surprised Stefan. "We're doing things differently now. I'm your guardian; legal or otherwise. I always will be till I'm dead and I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'm in charge so get used to it. No computer unless it's for school work and no iPods or anything electronic. I already have your laptop. And no more drinking in public. It's late. Get some sleep. You have school in a few hours" Damon said dismissively

Stefan still stood frozen in place. He couldn't believe what had just happened. In little more than five minutes his independence had been taken and he had been grounded by Damon. It was as if he as dreaming. He looked at Damon, wondering, hoping he was joking.

Damon raised his eyebrows at him. "You want me to restrict you to your room?" he asked ominously. Stefan shook his head and moved dazedly towards the stairs. "And Stefan," Damon's voice stopped him in his tracks. "No jumping out the window to meet your friends, and no more lying and disobedience. You know how that will be handled"

Stefan's eyes turned as large as saucers and he blurred quickly up to his room. He changed into some sweats and curled under the covers. This was no dream. It was really happening. Damon had grounded him. He was supposed to be the go-to guy (Caroline's term, not his) when the others had to go round their parents' or guardian's rules because Damon didn't care and now he was… Ugh, Caroline would have a field day with this news. And that not-so-subtle threat about lying and disobedience made Stefan shudder. He, Mr. Independent, Stefan Salvatore was grounded.

 _How was this even possible?_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries. Don't sue**_

* * *

"What do you mean you can't come? Since when have you missed a party?" Caroline asked Stefan incredulously, like it was a major crime to not go to the party Ronny was throwing.

"Yeah Stefan. What **do** you mean?" Kol piped, taking a spoonful of ice-cream from Rebekah's chocolate peppermint while his twin glared at him. It was Thursday and they were having snacks and drinks at the original mansion. Elijah and Alaric were out checking something out, or so they said, and they had dragged a pouting Klaus and a whining Damon along, leaving the teens to entertain themselves.

Stefan blushed darkly as everyone's gaze turned to him. "I just can't okay? It's not that big a deal anyway" he mumbled

Caroline's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Not that big... Stefan this is like the biggest party of the year and we get to enjoy it for only about three hours before overprotective parents and guardians and older brothers drag us home and practically tuck us in. Well, all of us except you anyway. I so envy you sometimes. All that freedom..."

"I'm grounded!" Stefan blurted suddenly

Rebekah was unfortunate enough to be taking a sip of her drink at that exact time and she spluttered all over Kol.

"What?!" Bonnie and Elena said at the same time. The others looked on dumbfounded.

"Damon grounded me" Stefan breathed. "I can't leave the house after six"

"Damon grounded _**you**_?" Elena asked, shocked. "But that's..."

"Impossible" Matt chimed

"Apparently its not" Stefan huffed, annoyed

"B-but Damon... It's **you**. He can't ground _**you.**_ He spoils you, lets you stay out all night without consequences, it's just not possible for him to ground you. Are you sure he wasn't joking?"

"It doesn't matter how many times you stress " _ **you"**_ Bonnie, I'm still grounded. I can't go to the party. Period" Stefan stated. "And Damon doesn't spoil me" he added as an afterthought

"Yes he does" Jeremy said. "Feel free to jump in anytime Caroline"

"Yes. Your silence is deafening" Kol added

"Looks like the blondes need some time to digest the news" Tyler teased

Rebekah threw him a death glare as Caroline shook her blonde ponytail, a look of confusion on her face. "Damon _**grounded**_ you?"

"For the umpteenth time Caroline, yes, Damon grounded me" Stefan practically snarled. "I don't know what the problem is anyway. You guys get grounded all the time"

Caroline suddenly stood up and started pacing. "This can't be happening, not now. Our ability to attend this party hinges on you Stefan. You can't be grounded. Why do you choose now to be grounded?"

"I didn't _'choose'_ to ground myself Caroline" Stefan grouched. "And what do you mean the party hinges on me?"

"Well Ronnie may have said something about moving the party to his cousin's house in Richmond because of some reason I can't recall. I knew even though Richmond is just over an hour away we'll never be allowed to go so I told him he could still hold it here, in Mystic Falls. And that I knew the perfect place"

"Caroline you didn't volunteer my house for the party did you?" Stefan asked, slightly alarmed.

"It wasn't like I had a choice. It was either your place or Rebekah and Kol's. And Damon wouldn't mind anyway ... so" she shrugged. When she looked at Stefan's pale face she hastily added, "Back then at least. I thought...they would let us attend if they thought _**you**_ were throwing it"

"Why are you so uptight about this anyway Stefan? This is like the first time Damon has gotten strict with you. Baby steps. He'll forgive any transgressions"

"You don't know what he said Rebekah, and the way he said it. He's going to kill me. Caroline you have to cancel. Tell Ronnie something came up or move it to Kol's place or anything. Just not at my house, please"

"Okay, okay, fine. I'm sure we can come up with something else" Caroline conceded. "Be a real shame not to be able to attend that party though"

* * *

Stefan glanced up from the chemistry homework at the screen of his phone as it beeped, indicating a text. He was still grounded but electronic privileges were reinstated after a week. He read it quickly and looked at Damon, who was pacing the living room while on the phone.

"Damon, can I step out for a minute? Caroline wants to discuss something"

Damon lifted a hand to silence him for a but as he told whoever was on the phone to hold on. He then turned to Stefan. "Are you done with your homework?"

Stefan nodded. "Yes. I was just reading through"

"Ok then. You can go. Don't stay out past curfew" Damon all but commanded, then turned round immediately to continue the call.

When Stefan got to the Forbes residence, everyone else was there already.

"Finally" Caroline huffed. "I thought you'd never make it"

"Sorry. I had to walk. Still can't drive yet"

"So this grounding thing is really happening. I didn't know Damon had it in him" Tyler said

"What is the emergency meeting for Caroline?" Stefan asked after throwing a glare in Tyler's direction

"Oh right" Caroline said, practically dancing in place. "You remember that conversation we had three days ago about Ronny's party that we might not be able to attend?" Everyone nodded. "You also remember how I said we'll find a way to make it?" They nodded again. "Well I think we found a way"

"Really?" Jeremy asked, eyes almost bulging out of it's sockets

"Well, not technically" Jeremy's face fell. "But, I have a plan. And its going to work" she said with confidence

"Are you going to tell us Caroline, or are you going to keep us waiting until we grow old and grey" Matt said in a bored tone, fiddling with his phone from his position beside Tyler

"If you would just be a little patient..."

"Caroline, spit it out" Bonnie and Elena said simultaneously

"Ok, so Rebekah said Elijah and Klaus were going to Chicago next weekend..."

"When did I say that?"

"Cheer practice. And the Mayor and the Sheriff have some conference in Texas. That means Bonnie's dad and my mom are out of the picture too. On the same weekend. Ok, I may have had something to do with that. The conference was supposed to be separate for Mayors and Sheriffs, a week apart actually, since it did not seem wise for the Mayor and Sherriff to be away on official business at the same time, but I tweaked it just a bit. A little compulsion was all I needed. Now..."

"How did you pull that off?" Elena asked, dumbfounded. Everyone now looked intrigued at where this was going. Even Matt had lost his bored look.

"Like I said, compulsion..."

"Yea but who did you compel? You couldn't have gotten to one of the higher ups in charge of the conference. They would be in Texas, and you haven't left Mystic Falls recently. That means... Oh Caroline you didn't. She'll kill you"

"A little lost over here. You wanna fill us in?" Kol asked, waving his arm

"Caroline compelled her mother. She knew she could pull some strings to have the meeting brought forward if she gave a good enough reason" Bonnie explained

"She won't find out okay? Now do you want to hear the rest of the plan or not?" She paused, looking around at the others. "Good. So my mom and Bonnie's dad and your brothers are out" she pointed to Kol and Rebekah

"That still leaves Alaric and Damon and Mason . We got lucky with the others. Now how do we get these three out of town before Friday?" Kol asked excitedly. The prospect of attending Ronny's marvelous party was suddenly becoming real

"I think I can help with that" Stefan spoke suddenly. "Ever since Damon grounded me, he's been making more responsible changes and when Caroline called he was on the phone with a lawyer from Venice about some documents from the companies that he had to sign..."

"You have companies? How many?" Jeremy cut in

"Yes. One in China, three in America and five in Italy. Mr Moreno wanted Damon to come to Italy since there were more companies and he could work faster from there. They were discussing it when I left but I think I could get Damon to make the trip this weekend"

"And he could take Alaric with him. They are best friends. This is perfect" Elena said

"Perfect? I think its fate" Rebekah said with a broad smile

"Hey Stefan, what kind of companies do you own?" Matt asked

"One IT company, one pharmaceutical and one shipping company in America, one IT in China and two construction, a chain of hotels and an airline in Italy"

Matt whistled. "Dude, how loaded are you?" Kol and Rebekah chuckled. "I didn't know you even worked"

Rebekah burst into laughter. "How do you think we get money?

"Compel it from banks or something?"

"We used to. It got boring after a while. Now Elijah and Nik share responsibility for the money making" she explained

"And we just sit back and spend" Kol added, grinning lopsided at his twin

"And Damon is like, the CEO of all these companies?" Jeremy asked and Stefan nodded. "That is a frightening concept"

"The Salvatores and the Mikaelsons are insanely rich. We knew that before, we know that now. Can we please get back to the issue at hand? Great" Caroline paused. "So how do we get uncle Mason of town?"

* * *

Damon was the first to leave. Stefan managed to convince him with a lot of puppy eyes and _I want something nice from home_ and _what about Mr. Moreno's family_ and _Alaric's never been to Italy before_ and finally _I'll be fine Damon, just go._ Under the guise of studying, the teens had converged at the Salvatore house and were now looking on from the window in Stefan's room as Alaric and Damon loaded their bags into the car and drove off, Stefan and Elena and Jeremy waving from the front steps.

Next was Elijah and Klaus and Mason. Turned out Elijah and Klaus were going to Chicago to broker some kind of supernatural peace treaty and Mason was going too so he could better connect with the werewolves. If _that_ wasn't fate, they didn't know what else was. And just like at the Salvatore house, they were camped out in Kol's room this time as they watched the twins and Tyler say their goodbyes.

Very slowly Friday finally arrived, and it was time for the Sheriff and Mayor to leave as well. They would be gone the shortest, only two days, but that was all the time they needed. Kol happily volunteered to carry Sheriff Forbes small bag into the Mayor's car as he dropped Bonnie off. They could barely contain their excitement as Bonnie and Caroline kissed their parents goodbye, watching as the car vanished over the horizon.

They gave a loud whoop at their plan going through, then started to delegate duties among themselves.

"So I just texted Ronny the venue of the party. He'll be coming over in about an hour to help set it up. Rebekah and Tyler and I are going shopping. The rest of you..."

"Put away Damon's expensive art and antiques and alcohol. Anything that looks expensive and would be missed. Got it" Matt interrupted Caroline. "Isn't it lucky that we don't have school today? Have the whole day to prepare for a spectacular party"

"Yea right. Lucky" Kol scoffed. A strange disease that looked suspiciously like chicken pox had attacked about half the teachers at Mystic Falls High, including the principal, and the students had been given the day off in case it was contagious. Everyone knew it wasn't a coincidence but Bonnie vehemently denied having any part in it. "Thanks Bonnie"

"I told you, I had nothing to do with that" she grumbled

"Yes. But thanks anyway" Jeremy iterated

Caroline laughed. "We're leaving. Oh Stefan, Ronny has the best beer and the best sound system and he throws the best parties, but _**we**_ have the best bourbon. Make sure everyone knows that" she winked

Stefan smiled.

* * *

"Okay. I think that was the last one" Jeremy grumbled as he came down the stairs and flopped into a couch. "Who would have thought Damon had a photographic memory? He always looked dumb to me"

Elena laughed. "We don't like Damon but we know he's not dumb"

"Yea" Caroline agreed. "Back when I was compel-dating him, he always made these astute observations. Like he would say, your scarf's tied different, or something's not right with your earings, even when I'm wearing an exact replica of the one I had on a few minutes before or I just shifted the scarf a bit. I used to think he cared a lot to notice the difference but he was just using his _incredible_ memory to his advantage"

"You're the only one on this planet who can make **incredible** sound so disgusting Caroline" Bonnie laughed as she gathered the pictures they had taken

"Well its true. So keep those photos well. If we don't replace these items exactly as we found them, Damon would know" Stefan added

"Guys, I got this" Bonnie said. "Where are Rebekah and Matt?"

"They disappeared into the cellar" Kol answered from his position on the ladder where he was fixing the lights, while Tyler held into the ladder below. No one was afraid of him getting hurt from a fall but Ronny was in the house with them and they had to keep up appearances.

Just then Rebekah and Matt came out if the cellar, Rebekah holding two wine bottles. "Look what we found in the basement" she said, adding the two bottles to the very expensive assortment of alcohol on the bar. Two bottles of scotch and one vodka that Kol had snagged from his older brothers' collection, one whiskey and Jack Daniels Tyler pilfered from his uncle's stock and of course Damon's exquisite bourbon Stefan had donated five bottles of.

Caroline removed the two bottles of wine from the table. "This is for the after party. These however" she picked out two bottles of bourbon and two of scotch and the vodka "are going with the punch. Spike them liberally. The others would be here for anyone who wants the hard untainted stuff" she winked. "Now we go get ready for the party"

"I've never been so happy to nit be able to throw a party in my own house before" Ronny exclaimed happily. "This party's going to be a blast"

* * *

And a blast the party was. Stefan had never been so glad they lived a long way from the town itself before, because someone would have surely called the cops at the level of noise they were making. All in all, the party went by smoothly without a hitch, unless you counted the number of broken bottles and drunken brawls and make out sessions and oh yea, Damon's call to Stefan at around 10. Only Bonnie's quick thinking had stopped Stefan's full blown panic at getting caught as she created a magic barrier around him that drowned out the noise from the party. Stefan spoke to his brother in relative silence, made him believe he was getting ready for bed, and then jumped right back into the party.

Finally, in the early hours of dawn, the last person left the house and the teens sat to discuss the success of their party.

"That has got to be the best party I've ever been. Damn!" Matt exclaimed drunkenly

"Yea. It was pretty cool wasn't it?" Caroline asked with a smile

"Pretty cool? It was bloody awesome!" Kol said

"Now we just need to think about the two thousand plastic cups we have to find and dispose of in the morning, the art and antiques and the alcohol we have to replace **exactly** the way we found it, and putting the house in a more presentable form before Maria comes to clean on Monday morning" Stefan recited

"Stefan, we've battled against the baddest of the bad in the supernatural world and held our own. I think we can handle cleaning up after a party" Bonnie spoke quietly. "Just as soon as I've had some sleep of course. I'm seeing about fifteen of you right now"

Kol laughed and lifted her into his arms. "Oh the downfalls of being human. Low alcohol resistance. Come, I'll take you to bed"

"Yea, and I'll handle Jeremy" Stefan said as he also got up. "Who's already drooling. Great"

Elena punched him lightly in the arm. "Hey, go easy on him. He's just a child". Stefan huffed but took Jeremy upstairs anyway.

"I can get myself to bed thank you" Matt said as he stood up, only to fall back onto the couch.

"I can see that" Tyler taunted. "Come on, I'll help you" And they too disappeared upstairs.

"How is it that you're not drunk?" Caroline asked Elena

"I didn't drink a lot. Had to keep an eye on Jeremy" Elena said, glaring playfully at Rebekah when she scoffed and muttered _buzz kill_ under her breath. "But I should be going to sleep. See you guys in the morning"

"And since we are practically alcohol resistant, we'll stay down here and start cleaning" Caroline said. "And tell Kol and Stefan and Tyler to come down and help"

* * *

By nine am in the morning, they had the house back in order (with the exception of Jeremy who they allowed to sleep in), chiefly due to vampire speed and Bonnie's magic and meticulously taken pictures the day before.

"What do you think? You think he'll notice any difference?" Kol asked Tyler as they compared the position of a vase to a picture of its original position

"I don't see any difference"

"Great. Then I think we're done"

By the time Matt and Stefan returned with food (because no one felt like cooking), the house looked spotless and the open windows had cleared any lingering smells. As they were eating, Caroline turned to Rebekah. "Do you think we'll get away with it?"

"Absolutely"

* * *

 _Such silly teenagers. Of course they'll get caught. And they'll be punished of course. Please tell me in your reviews what kind of punishment each of them deserves._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries are not mine. I just play around with them**_

 _ **Warning: Spanking in this chapter**_

* * *

Stefan walked blearily downstairs, not noticing the presence in the room until a too-chipper-for-that-time-of-morning voice spoke from the  
couch.

"Morning little brother"

Stefan whirled around in surprise. "D-Damon" he stuttered, "When did you get back?" he asked, trying to subtly hide the bourbon he was  
pouring

"Little after midnight. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't wanna wake you" Damon said. "And by all means, finish fixing your breakfast.  
Don't mind me"

"Uhh... I'm.. I'm good"

"Really? Well then get dressed. We're eating breakfast with the originals"

Stefan paled slightly. "The originals? But..."

"This is not debatable Stefan" Damon said in a stern voice. "Besides, I've been gone almost a week and I've missed you" he ruffled his hair

Once Stefan saw this part of Damon surface he tried to whine his way out of the breakfast date. "But Damoooon, can't we make it lunch or  
dinner? Caroline will kill me if I don't make it to her house in time" he pouted. Damon chuckled at the cuteness, but still dragged him to  
his room.

"I don't think Caroline will try to kill you Stefan" he said while throwing a sweatshirt at Stefan. "And we can't get out of this anyway"

"You can get out of anything"

"Stefan" Damon huffed. "We're going"

* * *

He trudged behind his brother as they entered the mansion. To say he didn't want to be here was an understatement. Don't get him wrong, he had nothing against the place. He just didn't want to be there today, at that time. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Alaric spoke  
suddenly, somewhere close to him.

" You brought wine to breakfast" he gasped exaggeratingly. "I'm shocked. Shocked I say. See how shocked I am? This is my shocked face"

His brother chuckled. "Can it Ric. You should be glad its wine, and not bourbon, which I'm pining for right now. Seriously, I'm...well what do you know, I may be able to do something about those withdrawal symptoms after all" he said, handing the bottles of wine to Alaric and walking off into a corner of the mansion, where Ric noticed Klaus was surreptitiously throwing back shots. Of course its Klaus...and Damon. He rolled his eyes and walked off in the opposite direction.

Stefan wondered why Alaric was here as well. He didn't have time to deliberate however, as Kol whispered from behind a curtain and  
beckoned him over. He glanced around quickly to see the adults in animated conversation, with the exception of Damon and Klaus of course, and surmised that his older brother wouldn't miss his presence. Then he ducked behind the curtain Kol had popped out from and walked the short distance to Kol's room.

"Oookkkaaayyy" Stefan drawled when he was met with Kol, Matt and  
Tyler. "What's going on? Why are you guys here? And where's Jeremy?"

"I live..."

"You know what I mean Kol"

"Jeremy's downstairs, so no one would notice our absence immediately" Tyler said

"I don't know but I have a real bad feeling about this guys" Matt said, pacing worriedly around the room. "Something's up. I mean why  
else would we be dragged here for breakfast? All of us"

"What do you mean all of us?"

"The girls are in Rebekah's room" Kol answered. "Probably having this same conversation. You didn't notice the Sheriffs' car and the Mayor's  
car outside?"

"No. I was kinda mad at Damon for dragging me here. But it could be just breakfast, right? I mean they couldn't know, could they?"

"I'm telling you man, they know. Even Tyler's uncle is here, and ever since his mom and dad died, he has been trying to catch up with all  
this Lockwood business stuff. Now they may not be as rich as you guys, but they are definitely among the three richest human families in  
Virginia, and Mason won't leave all that work to eat some fancy breakfast, even if the originals are hosting it. Diner maybe, but not  
breakfast. And if Mason is here..."

"Ok, ok Matt. Stop giving yourself a panic attack" Tyler said to his friend, who was fast turning pale. "Stefan is right. It could just be  
breakfast..."

"... That we have to be at right now" Kol interjected, hurriedly leading the way as they tried to sneak back into the dining room. Just  
in time too, as the table was almost laid and the girls threw worried and relieved glances in their direction. The conversations were  
thinning and any second later and their absence would have been noticed.

* * *

"So" the mayor said leisurely, "I hear you kids had quite some free time on your hands, what with the teachers falling sick and all that.  
I hope you're caught up on your school work and not spent all that time doing unproductive things" he said, throwing a barely there  
glance at his daughter

Stefan felt his heart thudding in his chest. "Yes. Of course we studied. Did all our homework and even studied ahead a little" Caroline chimed in quickly, naturally. Stefan heaved a sigh if relief. Oh sweet Caroline, thank you.

"That's great. Bit strange though, how that disease afflicted only the teachers. Dr. Fell said they couldn't find anything wrong with them"  
Elijah added

Caroline opened her mouth to say something and Stefan realized it would look suspicious if only Caroline answered. He was just about to speak up when another voice cut through. "It came on quick. Mr. Weller and Mrs. Abdul caught it first. And then the janitor and the secretary. Then finally the principal. It was after the principal got it that we were asked to stay home until further notice, in case it was contagious" Elena lied smoothly

"That seems reasonable enough" the sheriff said. "I am just sorry none of us was home that weekend to take care of you. If we had known at least one of us would have stayed back"

"It's fine. We were okay" Kol said. "We don't need looking after all the time. We are not exactly children you know" he chuckled nervously

"You're going to be a child for eternity Kol" Klaus said, rolling his eyes

"I imagined that with no adult supervision, you guys would so something wild. In fact while I was in Italy there was this video on  
YouTube about some crazy party on Friday..." Damon begun, only to be interrupted by Jeremy spluttering

Alaric worriedly looked towards his youngest. "Are you okay Jeremy?"

"Yea. I'm fi..." he started saying before his eyes rolled into his head and he fell from his chair.

"Jeremy!" Alaric shouted, catching him just before he hit the ground. The resulting commotion provided the best distraction for the teens  
and they slipped away unnoticed.

* * *

"They know. Theyknowtheyknowtheyknowtheyknow. Oh we're dead" Bonnie said

"Okay. We need to calm down and talk about this"

"What's there to talk about Caroline? Did you see the way my dad looked at me when he was talking about the teacher's illnesses? He  
practically accused me of knowing what was wrong. Like I had something to do with it, which FYI, I do! I am so in for it this time"

"How did they even know?" Elena asked confused and worried for her little brother at the same time. "And Jeremy..."

"Relax. Jeremy's fine. It was a little spell to get us here"

"You used magic to make Jeremy faint so we could meet and talk about our punishment? How could you? What if he had gotten seriously hurt?"

"Elena that's not the priority right now. Jeremy will be fine. We need to think about..."

"Not the priority? He's unconscious Kol. And this is your entire fault. Wasn't it you and Rebekah's job to compel everyone to forget the party? How did a video get on YouTube?"

"Elena, screaming at Kol wouldn't solve anything. And Bonnie's a good witch. You know she'll never harm Jeremy" Matt tried to soothe

"This is bad. This is bad. This is bad" Stefan muttered with his head in his hands

"We're never going to sit again"Rebekah said to her twin Caroline looked curiously at Stefan. "What will Damon do to you?"  
Stefan shook his head. "I don't know"

"You don't know? Is that why you're on the verge of tears?"

"Its been a long time since Damon's punished me, apart from the grounding a few weeks ago. But in the days when we were very close and I was his responsibility, much like he has changed to now, he would uhm...hit me?"

"You mean like beat you up?" Tyler asked

Stefan shook his head. "He means his brother would take a belt to him. Repeatedly" Kol said knowingly

Matt's eyes went wide. "You mean like spank you?" He asked incredulously and Stefan nodded morosely. "But you're like all grown  
up"

"Trust me, it's normal" Rebekah said. "It's normal from when Stefan was born and Damon didn't see fit to change it, just like Elijah  
doesn't. The last time my mother strapped Niklaus was about a week before we became vampires, and he was almost twenty four"

"Your mother?" Tyler asked sceptically

Kol nodded. "Mikael would have beaten him bloody. It helped too that she was a witch and could easily keep him in position"

"Man, am I glad to be born into the twenty first century" Matt said

"My dad will ground me" Bonnie,said suddenly. "Like severe can't-leave-your-room-no-electronics-no-friends three week grounding.  
It's gonna suck big time"

"I don't know what my uncle would do" Tyler said apprehensively

"I don't know what Alaric would do either. But I know it would be unpleasant" Matt said

They sat in silence for a while, no one speaking, deliberating on their individual punishments. Finally, Elena spoke up.

"Shouldn't we be getting back downstairs?" Stefan chuckled mirthlessly. "Oh I'm sure they've already noticed our  
absence and are just waiting to start lighting into us. We would be grounded for so long the next time we see each other, we'll be old and  
gray"

"Ok" Caroline stood. "Time to face the music"

* * *

They stared at the forlorn teens sitting on the couch, Jeremy looking a lot better than he had a few minutes ago. He had woken up suddenly a few moments after the others came down. No one said anything though they all thought it suspicious. How did they even think they would get away with it? Even without the video they would still have been caught. Teenagers, Alaric scoffed.

Damon had dragged Stefan home almost immediately after they went downstairs. After a couple of minutes of interrogation, he hurriedly  
excused them from the mansion. No one tried to stop them, probably because of the coldness in Damon's eyes. Stefan turned a pale wide eyed face to his friends, receiving a sympathetic one in return as he was whisked away.

He sat on the couch and watched as Damon calmly fixed himself a drink. The ride home had been silent, none of them speaking to the other. He had tried to talk on one occasion, but a glare thrown in his direction had made him quickly snap his mouth shut. He shifted back subconsciously into the couch as Damon sat on the table in front of him.

"Let me get this straight. Klaus and Elijah's trip was planned. Mason coming along was only an added bonus. And the sheriff and mayor conferences was a week apart, but somehow they ended up going together because of a favor Liz called in, for which reason she doesn't remember by the way. And you manipulated me into taking Alaric with me to Italy, and all this just so you could throw a party? Did I miss anything?"

He shook his head.

"Are you sure because I can count two bottles of wine and five bottles of bourbon missing" Damon said, staring at Stefan dangerously

He gulped. "We 'borrowed' some vodka and scotch from Elijah and whisky and a JD from Mason"

"You mean you stole"

"Not exact..."

"Stefan..." Damon growled warningly

"Yeah" Stefan whispered in surrender, not meeting his brother's eyes

"Anything else?"

"I'm sorry"

"Oh you will be" Damon said. "Go wait for me in your room". About a  
minute later, Damon was standing in Stefan's room, his little brother  
looking for all the world like he was being led to the slaughter  
house. He looked up as Damon came in. "Drop them"

"Wha... What?" Stefan squealed, turning a rather interesting shade of  
white. He knew exactly what Damon meant, and he took a wary step back.

"Stefan if you make me come get you..." Damon left the threat hanging

He took a quick step forward. "Damon, you don't have to... P-please. I will not go to any party for a decade...and...and I won't throw one again for another hundred years. Just...don't...h-hit me"

"Hit you? I've never hit you Stefan, and I'm not about to start now. You're just afraid of getting your deserving little ass blistered"  
Damon started forward, only for Stefan to blur quickly into the opposite corner. "If you're not right before me by the time I count to three..."

Stefan was quickly back in position before Damon could start counting, and just as quickly found himself draped over his brother's lap sans his pants and boxers. Panic set in and he started to struggle. "No!  
Damon wait, please, okay? Wait. What about other punishment? Don't do this please. I'm sorry. Very very sorry. I promise... I swear I... Oww!"

A crisp swat stopped his tirade. He blinked rapidly as his eyes misted over. That hurt. A lot. After four more swats in the same spot, his hand flew back to protect his backside. Damon however just brushed it out of the way and continued landing the sharp smacks, much to Stefan's chagrin. He sniffled pitifully, feeling the tears rolled down his cheeks. He hadn't been in this position in a very long time and he  
had forgotten how much it hurts. He tried again to plead with his brother.

"Damon pl-please stop. I-I think I've ha-had enough. Please. I'll do any-anything. Just stop"

"I determine when you've had enough Stefan, and we are a long way from there. Get comfortable little brother, I'm just getting warmed up"  
Damon said as he continued swatting

Stefan burst into loud sobs of distress at this piece of information. "B-but it hu-hurts" he managed through his sobs

"It's supposed to. Why are we here Stefan? Why are you being punished?"

"Perche ' sei un cazzone!" (Because you're a dick) Stefan yelled, regretting the words as soon as they left his lips. He felt Damon's  
arm stop in midair and rushed to apologize. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. P-please. I'm very sorry". This just got so much  
worse.

"What did you say to me?" Damon asked in a scary voice

"I'm sorry" Stefan whispered. "I di-didn't mean to. Please"

Damon grabbed his arm and pulled him over to a corner, planting his nose in it. "You had better be in the same position when I get back or  
so help me Stefan Antonio..."

Uh oh. The full name. Stefan nodded rapidly, not wanting to make it worse than it already was. He tried to keep an ear out for what Damon was doing but his scorching backside kept distracting him. If he had not mouthed off to Damon, this would be over by now instead of him waiting here for round two. Who else was foolish enough to talk their way into two spankings anyway? He alone apparently.

"Come over here Stefan"

He jumped in surprise. He hadn't even heard Damon come in, what with his sniveling and burning bottom. He turned around and promptly burst into fresh tears, not that he had stopped crying. "No. No please. I swear I won't do it again. Please don't" Stefan said, lagging as far behind as possible as Damon dragged him back to the bed.

"I intend to make sure that you don't" Damon said as he pushed Stefan over the bed and pulled his pants back down. Stefan just kept muttering please and I'm sorry over and over until Damon laid a burning stripe across his bottom.

"Owwww!" He yelled as he jumped up, grabbing his butt and dancing in place. He rubbed for about two seconds before Damon pushed him back over the bed. "Please. Please. I'm sorry" he whispered

"You think about this every time you even think about thinking about cursing at me" Damon said. "You will stay in position and count out the strokes. You're getting the same number as your age"

Stefan turned a worried wide eyed look to the freshly cut switch in his older brother's hand. That one strike had hurt a lot and he didn't think he could take...  
"... I mean seventeen Stefan. You didn't think I was going to lay a hundred and sixty four stripes on you, did you? I want to punish you, not torture you" Damon cut in quickly before Stefan worked himself into a panic, not that it helped any as his face crumbled further and he buried his face into the sheets at the thought of sixteen more lines of pain across his bottom. He gave a little scream as Damon laid down another stripe, fisting the silk sheets tightly to resist the temptation of reaching back and rubbing out the blazing pain, and just remembered to count out loud.

"Two"

.

.

.

"Thir-thirte-en. Thirteen. Thirteen" Stefan sobbed out. He looked the perfect picture of dejection, and Damon took some pity on him, laying down the last four strikes quickly, amid Stefan's loud agonized screams. He grabbed his ass and vigorously tried to rub the sting out, while simultaneously yelling seventeen over and over again.

Damon pulled him to his chest, though it took Stefan some time to notice. He kept hold of his butt and continued hopping from foot to foot, body shaking with sobs. "Hey. Hey Stef it's over. Its over. Calm down now. Deep breaths"

"I-It hurts. It hurts s-so much. I'm never going to be able to sit again. I d-don't remember it hurting this bad" Stefan said, starting to slowly calm down

"That's because it's been ages since you've been punished this way. And do something like this again and it'll happen again"

Stefan sniffed into his brother's chest, his loud sobs a few minutes ago tapering into soft cries. "No more parties, I promise"

Damon held him at arm's length and peered at him. "Stefan, I'm not mad that you threw a party"

"You aren't?"

"No. Maybe you should have gotten permission first but you're a teenager. An eternal one. It wouldn't be fair to you to punish you after every party you throw or attend. While most teens eventually grow out of it you never will, and I can't punish you for eternity for something that's not entirely your fault. No. I'm mad because it was dangerous of you to get all the adults out of town just for something as fickle as a party" Damon explained as he helped Stefan fix his clothes

Stefan hissed as his jeans was pulled up over his sore backside. He was not ready at all for anything to cover his ass, but he refrained from telling Damon that. Preferring to rather grit his teeth and shed some silent tears. "Who are you and what have you done to my brother?" Damon glared at him. "We weren't exactly in any kind of danger. And almost the whole school was at the party. Their parents didn't seem to mind. And they're human"

"If hunters were to waltz in the door during your party, who do you  
think would have gotten hurt?"

"Us" Stefan mumbled, having an idea where this was going

"Us who?" Damon pressed

"The vampires"

"And if a witch came in...?"

"Us again"

"And no one would have been here to protect or help you. Not me, not Elijah or Klaus, not Liz and not Mason. The humans would be safe and it would be you who'll be in danger. You may be stronger than them and faster and more resilient than them Stefan, and under normal circumstances they are the hunted, but this is Mystic Falls. Every hunter is wired to kill us and every witch apart from Bonnie had a bone to pick with us. In Mystic Falls we are the ones that need protecting"

"Well, if you put it like that..." Stefan muttered. When Damon put it like that getting everyone out of town had not been a particularly safe idea

"Come on" Damon pushed him towards the stairs. "You haven't exactly had breakfast yet. Scheming too much to have time to eat anything at the Mikaelsons. I'll have Maria make you a sandwich. It's almost time for lunch anyway" Stefan yawned. "And after you're done eating, you're going to take a nap. I have a council meeting to attend so you'll stay in your room for the rest of the day"

"But Da..."

"Ah ah ah. You make your bed, you lie in it. You will stay up there until I say otherwise"

"Yes Damon" Stefan replied sullenly

"Good" Damon said, pushing him into a chair at the dining table.

Stefan gave a little yelp as he shot back up but a look from Damon had him lowering himself back into the chair, albeit carefully. Damon pressed a kiss to his head. "Now behave for Maria. I'm going to go make some calls. Okay?"

Stefan nodded

* * *

 _I have one more chapter left, about the others reaction to their various punishments. I'm not sure when I'll put that up coz I've got exams now. Anyway, tell me what you think?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the Vampire Diaries do not belong to me. Don't sue.**_

* * *

Stefan stared listlessly as he watched Maria scurry around, disappearing down the cellar with three bottles of Damon's best bourbon. It was little past seven and the meeting was at nine. He chewed his pencil as he thought of a name for the meeting that was going to be held. It wasn't a council meeting because the Fells were not coming. Also the current mayor and the originals were not a part of the founding families. Alaric was somewhat of an exception since he was representing the Gilberts until one of them turned twenty one. Each member family on the council had a role in keeping Mystic Falls' dirty little secrets, well, secrets. The Fells were always reporters, the Lockwoods were mayors, and the Gilberts were scientists, the Forbes were sheriffs and the Salvatores were industrialists-bankrollers of sorts. It was not a law. It wasn't even conscious decision. It had just been that way since the council was first formed. And now, for the first time, the mayor was not a Lockwood, and the gilberts were too young to represent. This meeting was definitely not a founders' council meeting, but Stefan couldn't quite put a name to it. _Oh well_ , he shook his head to clear his thoughts and stopped chewing on the pencil in favor of twirling it between his fingers. He hissed softly as he shifted on the dining chair that had absolutely too little padding and stared longingly at the couch. What he wouldn't give to be lying face down on that couch right now.

"Can I get you anything to drink, Stefan?"

Stefan jerked his head up to see Maria with an expectant look on her face. He hadn't noticed her come back up from the basement. She was holding two bottles of wine that she was most probably going to clean. _How much alcohol did they need down there anyway_ , Stefan mused, then scoffed at his own question. With Damon and Klaus and Alaric in the same room, probably much more.

"Stefan?" Maria prompted when the boy was not forthcoming with an answer

Stefan shook his head. "No. I'm fine" he stated glumly

"Your friends will be here soon" Maria tried to cheer him up

He nodded, absentmindedly watching her disappear into the kitchen before calling out for her. "Maria?"

"Hmm?" she poked her head around the door

"Where's Damon?"

"I don't know. Maybe in the shower" she answered. "Why?"

Stefan cursed their soundproofed rooms. "Nothing" he answered

"You sure you don't want anything?" Maria pressed

"Yes Maria. I'm sure" Stefan said. As soon as she disappeared back into the kitchen, Stefan stood up and after a long rub at his backside, knelt on the chair. He sighed in relief. Much better. He glared hatefully at the notepad before him and wished for the millionth time that it would go up in flames as he picked up the pencil and continued to write. Damon was a sadistic bastard, Stefan thought as he wrote line number eighty seven. 'I will never manipulate my brother in order to throw a party in his absence, putting my life in danger, ever again' Stefan wrote. The sentence itself took three lines and he had to write it some seven hundred odd times. Why couldn't Damon simply come up with 'I will never throw a party again' or 'I will never endanger my life again' instead of that long sentence? Stefan worked himself up so much writing that particular line, he accidentally broke his pencil, and angrily hurled it against the wall. He enjoyed only about fifteen seconds of freedom before two pencils were placed on the table.

"You break any more pencils and you will be sleeping on your stomach for a year" Damon spoke softly into his ear. "Understood?" Stefan's eyes widened momentarily before his head bobbed up and down in a nod. He hadn't heard his older brother come down. "I can't hear you nod, Stefan"

"Yes Damon"

"Good. There's a car coming down the road. One of your friends will be here in a few seconds. So try and cheer up, hm?" Damon said, ruffling Stefan's hair. The younger Salvatore ducked and glared up at his older brother. "Oh don't give me that look. It's your own fault you're kneeling on that chair instead of comfortably sitting" he stated in his usual Damon way as he chewed on a sandwich he had snagged from a plateful in the kitchen, leaving the rest in front of Stefan before disappearing back up the stairs.

* * *

Alaric arrived first, with Jeremy, Matt and Elena in tow. Elena looked longingly at Stefan, and he knew immediately that she had been grounded. He also noticed Matt's slight wince as he sat down and the tell-tale signs of Jeremy's blood shot eyes. He raised an eyebrow at Matt, to which the boy shrugged, not wanting to say anything in front of his guardian that might put him into more trouble. If Stefan wanted answers he would have to wait.

Tyler arrived with Mason next, a somber look on his face and an expensive looking backpack strapped to his back. Stefan suddenly realized that Elena had something similar, and Alaric had been holding one just slightly larger than Elena and Tyler's. Whatever it contained probably was for both Matt and Jeremy. What was up with that anyways? Stefan mused. Did they have homework or something he didn't know about? He watched as Tyler tried to lean against the pillar in lieu of sitting, only for his uncle to grab his bicep and plop him none too gently on the couch beside Elena, before starting to converse with Alaric.

Elijah and Klaus came with Kol and Rebekah some ten minutes later. They also had the same confusing backpacks-or at least Rebekah did- Kol refused to carry his, leaving it to Elijah to bring it in. the twins made a beeline for the other unoccupied couch, despite all the single chairs available. Stefan found out why when Kol immediately sprawled out on the couch on his stomach, his head in his sister's lap, sniffling every now and then. Ah, _**that**_ was why.

Bonnie and Caroline arrived last with their parents. They got to the boarding house at the same time. The blonde had a look on her face like she was about to shatter into a million pieces or burst into tears any moment. The look was so foreign on her face Stefan didn't know whether to be amused or sympathetic. Bonnie on the other hand looked slightly guilty-about what he couldn't tell- as she sat beside Stefan on one of the dining chairs.

The teenagers sat morosely, staring at nothing in particular and in silence while their parents and guardians wrapped up their conversations and pleasantries. Damon had returned sometime between Mason's arrival and the Sheriff's, and was now in a snarkfest with Klaus. Stefan looked at the clock and saw they had a little under ten minutes left before the meeting begun.

"We'll be down in the basement" Alaric's voice cut through Stefan's musings. "You will sit here and finish your punishments…"

"Wait. What?" Tyler interrupted

"Don't you have lines to finish Tyler?" Mason asked his nephew exasperatingly

Tyler blushed. "Yes, but…"

"But nothing. You will sit here and continue writing" his uncle finalized

"That goes for you two as well" Elijah directed to the twins. Only Rebekah nodded. "Kol?"

"Yes Elijah" he whispered

Confusion must have been apparent on all nine teenage faces because Liz took pity on them and explained. "You are all writing lines as part of your punishment. Jeremy being the youngest of all of you is writing two hundred lines. We agreed to cut him some slack. You…" she turned to the other eight. "… On the other hand, should know better. Elena, Bonnie and Matt, you each have three hundred lines to write. Caroline and Tyler, on account of being supernatural and because it'll take a lot more for your punishment to sink in, you both have to write five hundred lines. Stefan, while you're vampirically older than Caroline, you are still younger than Kol and Rebekah. It wouldn't be fair to have you write the same number of lines. You get seven fifty and they have to complete a thousand lines each" she looked at their resigned faces. "Understood?"

Stefan now had an idea of what the strange backpacks were for. If they had to write this much, it was probably filled with notepads and writing materials. Kol started to mutter something darkly before Rebekah clamped a hand over his mouth.

"What was that Kol?" Elijah asked

"Nothing" Rebekah answered for her brother quickly. "He didn't say anything"

"For your backside, I sure do hope so" Elijah said before glancing at his watch, an action that did not go unnoticed

"Okay" Damon begun. "We have to go now. Maria would bring you some snacks in a couple of minutes" he turned to Stefan. "Be good"

* * *

"What happened?" Stefan asked, after they had been quiet for almost two minutes. "I noticed only the boys had a real dislike for sitting" he added with a touch of bitterness in his voice

"Don't think we got off easy" Elena almost retorted. "Caroline is banned from extracurricular activities for two weeks". The boys winced, feeling a great swell of pity for Caroline. She chaired all the school committees. This was worse than any spanking she could receive; probably even worse than death in Caroline's opinion. "Bonnie's magic is suspended, unless it is life or death situation. She can't even light a candle unless her life depended on it. Literally"

"What about you?" Kol asked

"I'm grounded" Elena replied simply, though her tone and Jeremy's scoff said there was more to it

"That's not too bad" Tyler said

Matt waved at Tyler while shaking his head simultaneously, and Jeremy mouthed to him to stop talking as Elena turned a hard glare towards the werewolf. Tyler fortunately realized it was a delicate topic and raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry"

Another silence dragged on for what seemed like forever before Caroline broke it. "My mum said she was disappointed in me" she stated somberly. "She never said that to me before. 'Disappointed'. It hurt when she said it. Right here" she ended, putting a hand over her heart.

"It's okay Care. She'll get over it. She loves you very much, you know that" Bonnie tried to comfort her best friend

"What happened to you anyway?" Jeremy asked Kol. "You look like you've been kidnapped and tortured for a week"

"He may have talked himself into multiple spankings" Rebekah provided

Elena's eyes widened as Matt whistled. "Are you some kind of masochist man?" he asked. "I couldn't stop promising the sun and moon just so Alaric would stop and you talked yourself into another one?"

"Yea, that was pretty stupid Kol" Bonnie said at the same time Stefan muttered _maybe he couldn't help it_

They all swiveled to look at Stefan as he fidgeted. "Stefan" Caroline prompted

Stefan shrugged. "I may or may not have called Damon a dick…" there were collective gasps and 'oh man's. "… and may or may not have gotten switched for it"

"Jesus man. What the hell got into you?" Matt asked

"Lack of common sense and self-preservation, I'm sure" Rebekah said. "Kol called Elijah-and I quote- _**a self-righteous sadistic prick**_. I'm still wondering how he's still alive"

"He strapped me so many times I think I accidentally called on my mother to save me. I am not getting on Elijah's bad side again for at least a century" Kol lamented

"You always say that"

"Shouldn't we start writing?" Tyler asked. "I've only got about seventy lines and I so don't want to go over my uncle's knees again. I swear it was like he was pressing red hot coals tonto my butt"

"Yeah you're right" Jeremy agreed. "My ass can't take any more punishment"

Amidst the sounds of zips being pulled open and pens and pencils spilling out, Stefan spoke. I can't believe Alaric didn't spare you. You're his baby"

Jeremy blushed as Elena spoke. "Oh he went easy on him. Matt got way more. But he also stays within his sight. That means he sleeps with Ric now. He has to go to bed when he says and can't get out of bed until he says"

"Oh" was all Stefan could muster

Jeremy and Tyler pulled out chairs from the dining table beside Stefan and started to write. Caroline brought her knees to her chest in one corner of the couch, the raised knees providing a makeshift table for her notepad. Elena occupied the other corner, her body turned slightly as she wrote on its arm. Kol raised himself up long enough to grab his and Rebekah's supplies, the few seconds allowing his sister to stand and rub away some lingering sting in her backside. He returned almost immediately, draping himself back over Rebekah's lap and starting to write. Rebekah in turn used his back as a table as she also begun writing. Bonnie settled herself in the single armchair by the fireplace, writing in a similar position to Caroline except her leg was swung over the arm, and Matt settled for the floor. He lay on his stomach on the plush Persian and joined his friends in their collective punishment.

"This is insane. My hand is starting to hurt and I barely have ten lines" bonnie lamented

"Three down, nine hundred and ninety seven to go" Kol said snarkily. "At this rate I am sure I will be done with my **thousand** lines by the end of the month"

"Don't forget to account for the science project we have to submit in about ten days, preparations for the founders' ball five days after that, and the PTA meeting in three weeks. Including all this variables, I predict that the earliest time you'll finish is six weeks" Caroline provided glibly. Everyone looked at her in shock. "What? I chair all the committees in school. I practically planned these things"

"Uhm, Care, did you say PTA?" Matt asked nervously

She nodded, missing the look of absolute horror on the boys' faces.

* * *

When they came up from the basement a little over three hours later, the parents and guardians almost burst into laughter at the scene before them. Klaus actually did laugh before pulling out his phone and taking several pictures to tease Kol with later.

The kids had fallen asleep, and while that in itself was not funny, how they were sleeping was. In an obvious, albeit failed attempt to take some pressure off his burning bottom, Stefan had sat facing the back of the chair, with his legs above him over the backrest and his head on the dining table. Damon winced at the position. His little brother's neck was going to be his worst enemy come morning. Tyler had pushed three of the dining chairs together haphazardly and lay face down on them, head hanging off one of the chairs. Jeremy was probably the only one of the boys who had fallen asleep in a somewhat normal position. He lay with his head on his arms but he had moved back so much he was practically hanging off the chair. The less said about Kol the better as his upper body cascaded from the couch onto the floor but his lower body still stubbornly remaining on the couch in a position that would put a contortionist to shame. Rebekah had slid down, with her head now on the armrest of the couch and one leg on Kol's thigh and the other a few inches from his face on the floor. Matt was asleep in a reverse position to Kol, his back on the floor and his legs up on the couch between Caroline and Elena. Caroline's legs stretched out over Matt's and crossed at the ankles, and Elena was curled up in the opposite corner, her head resting on the back of the couch and facing Caroline. Their positions were probably the most comfortable in the room. Bonnie was in the same position in the armchair, except now her head hung over the other arm.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Alaric asked Elijah as he buckled the seatbelt around Kol's slumbering form. It had taken a few minutes to pack up the writing supplies and wake the teens. Surprisingly, with the exception of Bonnie who muttered something so dark Mason swore the temperature had fallen a few degrees, the girls woke themselves up long enough to trudge blearily into their respective parents' cars. The boys on the other hand, couldn't be bothered to open their eyes. Mason had to haul Tyler over his shoulders, Alaric picked Jeremy up nodding his gratitude to Klaus when he lifted Matt off the floor as he was free since Elijah was handling Kol.

"Two, maybe three, days" he answered, pushing the door shut. "If Kol makes it past three hundred lines, I'd make him cut school for a week". Alaric's eyebrows rose in surprise. "He won't even make it to two fifty lines Mr. Saltzman, trust me" he added as he drove off, Mason following closely behind. Liz and the mayor had left about ten minutes prior.

Damon stood by Alaric on the porch as he also made to leave. "How's Stefan?" Alaric asked. Damon had attempted to wake Stefan, only for the boy to fall out of his precarious position onto the floor, a sickening sound reverberating through the room as he hit his head on one of the chairs of Tyler's makeshift bed. To their amusement, he just turned over and continued sleeping. Damon hadn't bothered to wake him then, just lifting him up in a bridal carry and vamp speeding to his room

"He'll live" he answered simply. "I gotta be in Washington in a couple of weeks. I don't even know why yet. Will you come with me?"

"How about…"

"They can go stay with the Mikaelsons or mason"

"Okay, sure" Alaric replied. "You know; I could get used to this new responsible version" he teased

"We'll see" Damon smirked

Alaric shook his head and drove off.

* * *

 _Since it began with Damon and Alaric, ii thought it fair to end with them as well. So, this is the end. Sorry it took so long to update, I was busy trying to graduate. I may or may not write a sequel (that PTA meeting have got the boys quite rattled, hasn't it?) but for now, please read and review._


End file.
